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In honor of a distinguished career as a nurse educator and academic administrator, Vickie Lambert, Ph.D., a community member at Greenspring, recently received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for her unwavering excellence in academic nursing.

The award is presented to individuals who have been recognized for their professional contributions over a period of 20 or more years, been active for more than 30 years in a chosen field, published in their field of expertise, and received awards outside of the Marquis Who’s Who publications.

The Marquis Who’s Who Publication Board bestows the Lifetime Achievement Award to less than 5% of individuals listed in their numerous publications.

This most recent award came as a pleasant surprise to Vickie, who has received a large number of awards throughout her distinguished career.

“Many wonderful memories returned when I received the phone call informing me of the honor,” she says.

In 2000, Vickie retired from her position as Dean and Professor Emerita of the School of Nursing at the Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University). Following her retirement, she and her husband Clint embarked on a 12-year international journey of teaching and research.

“We had no idea that our most exciting professional adventures were waiting for us after retirement,” she says.

A new adventure

Shortly after her retirement, a colleague asked Vickie if she would consider traveling to Japan to serve as a professor at the School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University. She and Clint enthusiastically agreed to the proposition, spending two years at the Ube City university.

During their time in Japan, Vickie educated the Japanese students in American nursing education practices. In addition, she and Clint, a distinguished psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist and former president of Lambert Counseling Services in Georgia, studied the complications of stress among staff nurses in Japan. Their research resulted in the publication of the article, “Role of Stress in Nurses: An International Perspective.”

Vickie’s teaching quickly left an impression. While teaching in Japan, she and Clint accepted opportunities to serve as visiting professors at the School of Nursing, Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea; College of Social and Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; and Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Just the beginning

In 2003, the Lamberts returned home, but soon after, they were asked to help coordinate a master’s program and serve as professors at the Wuhan HOPE School of Nursing at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China.

“Of course, we agreed,” says Vickie. “It was a wonderful opportunity. We taught for three months at a time. I taught nursing classes while Clint taught classes in psychology and mental health. We enjoyed working together and often sat in on each other’s classes.”

When not teaching in Wuhan, the couple accepted visiting professorships in Sydney, Australia, and Vaasa, Finland.

Based on their previous successes, in 2007 the Lamberts were asked to teach doctoral nursing students at Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai, Thailand. As in China, they spent three months at a time at the university.

“In Thailand, we met students from all over the world,” says Clint. “We had students from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Indonesia.”

“It was a wonderful experience,” says Vickie. “The staff in Thailand had a strong desire to help their sister Asian countries. They had many American (western model) trained professionals, which enabled us to publish more research than any of the other universities we had worked with, combined.”

Lasting impression

In 2008, the Lamberts moved to Greenspring, an Erickson Living community in Springfield, Va. Three weeks later, they left for another three-month assignment at Prince of Songkla University.

“While it might sound crazy to leave on an overseas trip after moving, in fact it had never been easier,” says Clint. “We locked our door and knew that our home was secure.”

From 2008 until 2012, the couple continued to serve as visiting professors in Thailand, Australia, China, and Jordan. They published numerous research articles on their work for the International Journal of Nursing Studies and other scientific journals.

“We completed our international teaching travels in 2012 when our daughter Lexi gave birth to our grandson Hunter,” says Vickie. “They live less than ten minutes away, and we see them every chance we get.”

The Lamberts also enjoy spending time with their Greenspring neighbors. Clint recently served as chair of the Resident Council and now volunteers as a host at the in-house cable TV station.

The couple make a point to walk every day and participate in the monthly wine group dinners.

“We embrace each day as a new adventure,” says Vickie. “We never could have guessed that our retirement would bring so many wonderful opportunities.